Scar Tissue Tips: Do You Know the Causes and Treatments?

Many people often find ways to eliminate their scars. This is especially true for people who suffer from scars on exposed parts of the body such as the face. But, before you start searching for effective treatments to make your skin clearer, it is important to learn about scars.

What Is Scar Tissue?

Scar tissue is a type of tissue that replaces damaged skin tissue. Skin can be damaged for various reasons such as burns, cuts, injuries and acne. Scar tissues are formed when the first layer of the skin becomes damaged.

The skin tissue is composed of the same substances as normal skin, but they differ in terms of appearance.This is mainly because of the random arrangement of fibers in the scar tissue. Initially, scar tissue may look red and flat. But with the passage of time it becomes thick, raised and conspicuous.

What Causes Scar Tissue?

When normal skin tissue is damaged, the healing process causes the formation of scar tissue. Skin can be damaged for a variety of reasons such as:

Injuries caused by accidents or a sharp weapon

Burns from hot objects

Scratches and bites from animals

Cuts made during surgery

Conditions such as scleroderma, which affects the connective tissues and causes thickness of the skin

Skin disorders such as acne and chicken pox

A genetic condition that forms hypertrophic or keloid scarring after an injury

How Is Scar Tissue Formed?

Human skin is made up of the three layers: the hypodermis, epidermis and dermis. When the skin is injured, your body’s initial response is to form a clot on the damaged area in order to close the wound.

Slight injuries to the skin damage the upper layer of the skin, which forms a blemish that gradually fades with time. However, when the dermis or the pink middle layer of the skin is damaged, a scar is formed.

After a clot forms on the injured area of the skin, the body sends fibroblasts to rebuild the damaged skin tissues. These fibroblasts break down the clot and replace it with proteins such as collagen. The newly formed skin does not look the same as it did before because of the haphazard arrangement of the collagen proteins.

How Is Scar Tissue Different From Normal Skin Tissue?

Scar tissue is different from normal skin tissue in various ways. A few of the scar tissues symptoms are listed below:

The skin of scar tissue is thicker than the surrounding skin so it looks noticeable.

Scar tissue looks pale and dense because it has limited blood supply.

Scar tissue does not have normal sebaceous glands. It also cannot grow hair and has less resistivity to the ultraviolet rays of the sun.

Scar tissue is limited in circulation, sensation and functions as compared to normal skin tissue.

Scar tissue has decreased range of motion because of the feeling of tightness.

What Are The Different Types Of Scar Tissues?

Keloid: These are elevated scars that are dark and red in colour. This type of scar tissue appears when collagen is formed in abundance. It has been reported that people with darker skin are prone to keloid scarring.

Hypertrophic Scars: These types of scars are usually red or purple in colour and are raised above the normal skin. They usually get better with time. However, you may need scar treatments to speed up the healing process.

Atrophic Scars: These types of scars are sunken down on the skin. They usually appear post acne, or when part of your skin is removed by injury. These scars look different than normal skin as the body produces more scar tissue than needed during the healing process.

Stretch Marks: Also referred to as striae, these are unique scars that are not formed as a response to a healing process. These scars are formed when your skin is stretched beyond a certain limit. You can find stretch marks on a woman’s belly after childbirth.
They also appear when a person loses excessive fat.

Contracture Scars: These types of scars are caused by burning. The skin appears pulled up towards the site of the injury.

Once the scars are formed on the skin, they become permanent. Most of them fade with time, but faint evidence of them still remains. Deep scars do not even change with time. Fortunately, experts have explored various innovative ways to fight stubborn scar tissue. Chemical resurfacing, laser treatments, steroid injections and dermal fillers are some of the methods that can help make your scar look better. However, if you are one of those who want to try natural treatments before using these invasive and expensive treatments, read below.

Natural Treatments For Healing Scar Tissue

Aloe Vera: This is an effective skin treatment that when applied fresh on the skin helps to soften scar tissue and loosen it. Aloe vera is the best remedy for curing acne scars.

Essential Oils: Natural oils such as lavender, castor and coconut are a few of the potent oils that help to accelerate the healing process of scars. You can try mixing castor oil with coconut oil and use it to massage the affected areas every day for several weeks.

Lemon: Applying lemon juice on the scars helps to make them look clear and healthy. The citric acid present in lemon juice works to slough off the dead skin cells and stimulates the formation of healthy cells.

Massaging: Massaging is a useful technique that encourages proper blood circulation and increases blood flow into the scarred area to accelerate healing. It also increases the formation of collagen protein and helps to evenly distribute collagen fibres in order to make the scar smooth.
Massaging also assists in making your skin brighter and more elastic.

Are Topical Scar Creams Effective?

You can find a plethora of topical scar creams and gels on the market that claim to heal scar tissue.Sadly, most of these topical creams do not work.

But that does not mean that there are no non- invasive treatments that can help you in your quest for flawless skin.

To choose the right scar product, you need to do some thorough research. When reading testimonials on the Internet, make sure that the information appears genuine.

Find a product that not only heals scar tissues, but also stimulates the formation of collagen in order to promote overall skin health. Last but not least, check the ingredients to ensure that they are safe, potent and effective.